Houstonians share weird behavior seen from other drivers in traffic

On my drive into work this morning, I spied a man behind me in downtown traffic heading north on Travis taking pictures of himself. While driving. As our cars trudged red light to red light, I began to realize he was trying to take a selfie, something which is odd, given his age and shock of gray hair. I’m not sure if he ever quite captured himself perfectly. He turned off before I could see, but he was efforting.

We all have morning commutes, some longer than others, that give us more time than we want to observe fellow members of the human zoo in their personal habitat. For some people the car is their only refuge from family and work, so why begrudge them the simple pleasure of picking their nose or doing their best Keith Moon impression?

What’s with all of these distracted drivers? One study found that not all of us our owning up to our unsafe ways.

A recent study by Texas A&M researchers found that among the Texas drivers they spoke with, cell phone usage is the most common distraction to drivers, but they also found that everyone thinks that everyone else is doing it more.

“While 76 percent of survey respondents reported they had talked on their cell phone while driving during the past 30 days, 96 percent said other people they know talk on their cell phones while driving,” said Katie N. Womack, senior research scientist at the Center for Transportation Safety at Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute.

“Forty-four percent reported they had read or typed texts, but 89 percent said other people they know text while driving. And 18 percent had looked at something on the internet as a driver, but 76 percent said people they know surf while driving,” Mack said.

Having more schooling under your belt doesn’t make you any less susceptible to the lure of distracted driving, Mack pointed out.

“Each of these self-reported activities was more likely to be done by drivers with a higher education,” Mack said. As another component of the study, Mack and fellow researchers asked respondents for examples of other dangerous distracted driving behaviors they had seen other people do. Folding clothes, making a sandwich, and playing the trumpet were just a few of things they heard. Given the study’s data, maybe these people are owning up to their own distracted driving.

The Texican asked fellow Houstonians to share the weird things they have seen other drivers doing while in traffic. After clicking through the slideshow, you will wonder why there aren’t more fender benders in this city.